Alas, work travel is here again. This time I am jetting off to Montreal.

Hope to post new projects when I get back on Tuesday!

I was so excited to receive my copy of One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins in the mail today via Amazon. I have been wanting to get my hands on this since my coworker brought back from BEA a promotional brochure about the book. There is something super-appealing about the purpose of this book. Now I can buy a yard of a cute fabric without a particular project in mind and know I will find something to do with it.

I haven’t had much time to read through it yet, but I am already eyeing up the oven mitt and hot pads, the quilted circles shoulder bag, the not-ugly car trash bag, and the origami organizer, just to name a few cute patterns from this terrific project-filled book.

I hope to post finished projects and review the patterns from the book in coming months, so stay tuned!

After a super-fun weekend with my good friend Emily, I am excited to write and show off my new pajama pants. After purchasing this fun  “Gothic Flower” fabric from Patty Young’s Mezzanine line made by Michael Miller Fabrics last month, I finally got around to stitching it up using Favorite Things’ “Sleep Well” pajama pattern.

My friend and I each made a pair of the pj bottoms, which we promptly lounged in all weekend.

Click to read more about how they came together.Why I wanted to do this project: I was excited to try pajamas since I do not sew a lot of clothing items. I figured pjs were a safe venture. Also, there are so many cute fabrics and this is a good way to use a favorite print.

How long it took me: Between cutting out the pattern and fabric and sewing the pieces together, I would estimate this project took two hours total. We added a step of zig-zagging the individual pieces prior to sewing, which may have added some time.

Bumps in the process: A few things about the pattern. As I mentioned above, we zig-zag stitched the sides of each of the four pieces prior to sewing them together to avoid future fraying. Also, the pattern does not instruct you to cut out mirror image pieces of the front and back of the pattern, so make sure to fold the fabric lengthwise to cut two pieces at the same time for the front and back. Also, the pajamas run pretty baggy, so I think a medium would fit a lot of different sizes, so I wouldn’t get too hung up on sizing.

What I learned: Pajamas are a pretty easy project and great for filling up a mental health day! Emily and I had a great time stitching our projects together without a lot of aggravation. I would give this project a try!

I’ll be spending Halloween with my husband and best friend from college. We’re going to a Flyers game this afternoon and then will watch the World Series and hand out candy this evening. What a day!

We kicked up our Halloween celebration yesterday with several activities, including a kids’ costume parade in a neighboring town. One of our at-home activities involved making yummy decorated caramel apples. Seriously, this is an easy project if you buy the caramel apple wraps. We rolled the caramel-wrapped-apples when they were warm in toppings like chocolate chips, sprinkles, and nuts. They are so yummy! I recommend cutting them up to eat so you can share!

Fall Leaves Garland

A few weeks ago, I mentioned my love of the colors of fall leaves and that I planned to construct a fall leaf garland based on an example on Ohdeedoh. I finished the project this weekend and am very delighted with the final product. It will be nice to have on display through Thanksgiving.

To learn more about how I made this project, click below.

To construct the fall leaves garland, I used Heather Bailey’s designer felt in five fall colors, a fabric pen, and a long ribbon. For the leaves, I used patterns on Martha Stewart’s website and resized them using Photoshop Elements. I stuck with three leaf patterns (maple, oak, and eastern redbud).

I cut the leaves out of the felt and drew the veins of the leaves with a fabric pen. I considered embroidery, but the pen worked well and was much faster.

To attach the leaves on the ribbon, I cut a small slit in the top of each leaf, strung it on the ribbon, and knotted the leaf and ribbon together to keep it in place.

This is a fun and inexpensive decoration to make and enjoy even after the beautiful leaves have fallen off the trees.

Napoleon is Jealous of the Birthday Gifts for Me!

I had a really nice, low-key birthday spent with my husband this year. I wanted to take the time to thank all of my wonderful friends and family who thought of me. I absolutely adored everyone’s cards and gifts. I have so many things to oogle over the weekend, including cool items from Japan, new jewelry and makeup, Amy Butler towels, and books on vegetarianism. Man, so many people know my interests!

Yummy Confections from Betty's Speakeasy

Steve surprised me with cupcakes and fudge from Betty’s Speakeasy, located in South Philly. We split several specialty cupcakes which were delicious! My favorite was the black velvet cake cupcake. So rich and delicious!

My New Vintage Prints

I also received two framed vintage prints from my mom, which she purchased on her cousin’s Etsy site, sylly123. And my mom finished the fingerless gloves for me. I picked out the yarn at Crafty Planet in May and am in love with my new accessory!

Fingerless Gloves Knit by Mom

I am grateful to have such wonderful and caring people in my life and hope that I can reciprocate their thought and generosity at their birthdays.

Christina's Scarf: A Classic Ribbed Pattern

While today is my birthday, I have enjoyed knitting this scarf in the last few weeks for my friend Christina, whose birthday falls one day before mine. I love knowing people with birthdays around mine because this time of year is so magical. The weather is turning crisper by the day and the leaves are at their peak colors. Plus, I always had creative Halloween-themed birthday parties growing up. Happy birthday to  Caitlin, Christina, Maryann, and my Aunt Peg, who all celebrate their special days in late October.

I am excited to be one year older and even more excited that I am still a few years away from turning 30. I really enjoy being in my twenties and am glad to continue the decade.

I Love the Bright Greens in this Scarf

Alright, now, back to the scarf. I knitted this with size 11 needles and stuck to a classic knit, purl, knit, purl ribbed pattern. I fell in love with this yarn at Ewe and I. It is from Chile and is 70 percent merino, 20 percent alpaca, and 10 percent silk. It will be a luscious cold-winter day scarf. Hopefully that cold weather is still a month or so away!

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

The holidays are coming.

Maybe it is because the week-long business trip I have been anticipating for some time is over or because the Thanksgiving issues of Martha and Vegetarian Times arrived today, but all of a sudden I realize that we’re in the countdown to holidays. And, as a crafter and DIY-er I have to begin making some choices about how to use my time.

I am already completely set for Halloween, since I finished my new decoration (the table runner) a few weeks ago. But now I have to finish my Thanksgiving runner, put together my leaf garland, and begin thinking about holiday gifts. Why didn’t I start doing all of this in July when I first thought of it?

One of the biggest challenges as a crafter is accepting how much time you have to complete projects. I would love to make awesome, handmade decorations and gifts for everyone, but that is seriously not possible. So I think I’ll pick a few nice gifts to make for select people and enjoy shopping at local stores for others’ gifts. I don’t want to ruin my holiday season by overdoing the DIY. After all, I am hosting my whole family for Thanksgiving and traveling to Idaho for Christmas. Oh, and there’s still a business trip to Montreal on queue.

On that note, I better begin making my list of handmade gifts and plan some time in my schedule to get them done!

I walked in the door of my house a few hours ago after a long travel day. I just spent my fourth year at the annual international book fair in Frankfurt, and boy am I exhausted! But it feels amazing to be home and sometimes it is good to be forced away from home, as it helps me not take my cozy and nearly perfect life for granted.

I was able to get to a few projects while I was away and look forward to posting some pictures of my journey and projects later this week. But for now, I am going to catch up on my television shows that I missed last week, watch some football and baseball, and spend some quality time with my husband and cats.

In a few hours, I will be on the plane headed to Frankfurt, Germany, for the annual book fair. This is my fourth trip over to Frankfurt, so I know the routine well. While it seems like traveling to a foreign country (especially in Europe) would be a blast, I often find myself counting the days left since I am by myself and without my husband and cats.

However, the work portion of my trip is somewhat exciting and this year I have thought long and hard about what projects to bring on the trip to occupy my time. I am packing several knitting projects, books, DVDs, and magazines. Plus, I’ll have my computer when I am over there so I’ll be able to blog regularly. Hopefully I can even upload some pictures while I am there!